Inaugural poet, writer, singer, and emotive teacher, Maya Angelou completes her sixth volume of autobiography with A SONG FLUNG UP TO HEAVEN. Listeners are treated to songs, chants, verse, and a full measure of musicality throughout her performance. Using her vocal training, she expresses the emotional quotient of her writing with sustained energy. Angelou embraces the listener in this autobiography which begins in the mid-’60s. She draws you in, places you with her on the plane from Ghana, returning home to work with Malcolm X; on the street in Watts, smelling the acrid smoke; in a bar with James Baldwin, marshaling strength to begin writing I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS. She is telling YOU her story. She confides her thoughts and shares her emotional and intellectual responses to events. Every word is as carefully chosen as her poetry. Rhythms evolve and change, moving through the story. The prose is poetry. Listeners are treated to a unique experience and can revel in what audio does best. R.F.W. 2003 Grammy Award Winner for Best Spoken Word Album © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine
Pub Date: April 2, 2002
Duration: 5 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780553755763
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
James Michener tells the real stories behind the man and his books. The recording is read with skill and consistency although the reader does little to enhance the robust, larger-than-life incidents related in the book. Due to the first-person narrative format, there is no opportunity for the narrator to change his voice. This makes some chapters monotonous as they go on and on in the typical Michener style. The listener may also become confused because the stories are not told chronologically. This is not a great choice for the audio format, but Michener fans may stick with it to the end.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 22 hrs
Publisher: Books on Tape
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
In a quest for a sense of inner contentment and self-worth, Gloria Steinem brings the reader on a journey of investigation and discovery. Steinem reads the text herself in a straightforward and friendly, but not intimate, presentation which is so easy to listen to it invites repetition--thus ensuring the painless relearning of the lessons of the book. It's difficult to tell from the reading that this audiobook is abridged; each section can stand alone. Nonetheless, the listener wished the book were unabridged. Steinem left me wanting to learn more.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: Dove Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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